When it comes to survival priorities, and at it’s most basic level, the principle of the rule-of-threes could be the difference between life and death with regards to one’s decision making and adaptability under dire circumstances (e.g. lost in the wilderness).

Perhaps the most important concept to understand when prioritizing your survival needs in an emergency survival situation, is the following Rule of Threes:

You can survive for,

3 HOURS WITHOUT BODY CORE TEMPERATURE

You can survive for three hours without maintaining your core body temperature (getting too cold or too hot). When analyzing deaths of persons lost in the wilderness, most lose their life due to hypothermia or hyperthermia (freezing or overheating).

3 DAYS WITHOUT WATER

You can survive for three days without water. You must stay hydrated. The second leading cause of lost persons death in the wilderness is dehydration.

3 WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD

You can survive for three weeks without food. Although you may technically survive for weeks without food, without enough calories you will become increasingly unable to help yourself out of the situation.